The problem of evil is best summed up by asking the question, “Why would a just and holy God allow bad things to happen to his people?” In order to begin to understand why evil exists, one must have a correct understanding of the relationship between God and evil. The most common incorrect view of the relationship between God and evil is that introduced to the church by the Gnostics, Marcionites, and Manicheans. This view can be described as the dualistic view and it holds that evil continually exists in either an eternal substance or person that God cannot destroy.[1] This view denies the supremacy of God because if there can be only one supreme being. There are other views that diverge from the biblical teachings on God and evil, such as Leibnitz theory of privation, the sensuous theory, and sin a pride, natural life, or selfishness[2]; while the dualistic view is the most common, all of the divergent views solve the problem of evil by yielding belief in some of the attributes of God.
Another important part of understanding the problem of evil is to understand what evil is and what its causes in the world are. Evil is generally accepted to be defined as the intention of causing harm or destruction while threatening or deliberately violating morality. Another aspect that must be included in any definition of evil must address what has been described as natural evil; that is anything which causes pain or distress and is not caused by human intention. The root cause of any evil in the world is the curse that came upon the world as a result of Adam’s sin the in garden (Gen. 3:14-19). As a result of sin entering creation we must now all deal with a sin nature that has affected all of us (Rom. 6:23).
Evil can be divided into two distinct categories, natural and moral, each of which presents their own religious and philosophical problems. These two categories, although distinct, are not separate. Natural evil is anything which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.[3] The problem of natural evil can be illustrated by the example of the destruction that occurred when Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf cost. The problem presents its self in the question, “If God is all-powerful and all-loving, how can God allow this catastrophic event to happen?” Moral evil on the other hand is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.[4] An example would be the pastor who engages is a sexual relationship outside of his marriage. Moral evil presents its own problem in that the existence of a free moral agent who is able to exercise his free will in opposition to God’s moral law seems to contradict the idea that God is all-powerful.
This thought process leads into the roles in which internal consistency and perception of God play in the solution to the problem of evil. Many atheists will use the questions that arise from the problem of evil as an argument against the existence of God. The crucial question is not whether or not a theological position contradicts another theistic system or even whether it contradicts the atheist’s views, but whether it contradicts itself.[5] If the theological system is internally consistent then it may be incorrect, but cannot be deemed invalid for inconsistency with another position. Most incorrect understandings of the problem of evil arise from a misunderstanding of the attributes of God. For instance if someone perceives that God is a puppet master who inflicts pain and destruction on his own accord and only for his own amusement, they very well may adopt a fatalistic view of the problem of evil, not unlike that of the Romans and Greeks.
If one does not adopt a fatalistic philosophy of the problem of evil and believes what the Bible says about God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and love; the question remains, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The answer is simple, there are no good people. Romans 6:23 teaches us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standard. This sinful nature has subjected all of us to the presence of evil within our lives. Some may object by questioning if mankind is personally responsible for the sins transmitted from Adam, but my answer is that God, in his sovereignty, has appointed Adam as our representative and Adam sinned on our behalf. The good news is that God has also appointed Christ as our representative and He has been punished on our behalf.
No comments:
Post a Comment